Download Military and government

Military and government
The administration of the Roman Republic relied on the organisation of the army.
That means the structure of the most important people’s assembly mirrored that of
the army. The century assembly elected the highest state officials, who held power
to decide over both civil and military matters.
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Military and government
Money makes the world go round
Roman society was based on a strict hierarchy: the individual’s
place within this hierarchy depended on his social status,
wealth and authority. More money meant more political
influence.
Replica of a Roman purse, Museum Lauracium, Austria. Photo:
Wikicommons / Wolfgang Sauber /
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
02
Military and government
Riches make the man
The Roman administration was based on the Republic’s
military organisation. After an official estimation by the
censor, each citizen was assigned a specific military rank. His
fortune determined which military equipment he could
afford, i.e. which military rank he was given.
View of the Roman Forum, Rome. Photo: Wikicommons / BeBo86 /
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
03
Military and government
Military and power
The symbol of the Roman legions the “aquila”, the eagle,
became the epitome of Roman power with good reason. You
can see it on this Roman denarius between two standards.
Denarius Serratus of C. Valerius Flaccus. Massalia, 82. Obverse: Victoria.
Reverse: Aquila between standards.
04
Military and government
Roman military units: The centuria
Legions were subdivided into centuriae. Each centuria
consisted of 80 fully equipped soldiers.
Historical re-enactment of the ‘Legio XV’ in Pram, Austria. Roman
soldiers around AD 70. Photo: Wikicommons / MatthiasKabel /
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
05
Military and government
Roman soldiers and their equipment
This coin shows how a legionary was equipped. A Roman
soldier (on the left) is fighting a Macedonian enemy to save
his Roman comrade lying on the ground.
Denarius of Q. Minutius Thermus(?), 103. Obverse: Mars. Reverse:
Legionary (left) fighting a Macedonian to save his comrade.
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Military and government
Offence and defence
Legionaries protected themselves from attacks with a large
wooden shield, carried on the left. With their right, they
carried the gladius, a shortsword with an approx. 50 cm long
blade. The original Roman gladius depicted here is in
possession of the British Museum in London today.
Gladius, Mainz type, British Museum, London. Photo: Wikicommons /
Jononmac46 / http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
07
Military and government
No spear, no army
Vital part of the increasingly standardised legionary
equipment were the pila. Those pila were heavy spears used
to break the shield-protected enemy lines.
Replica of a Roman pila, from the ‘Legio XV’ in Pram, Austria. Photo:
Wikicommons / MatthiasKabel /
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
08
Military and government
Give: Money in exchange for power
Only wealthy Romans could afford such a sophisticated
equipment. And those who spent a lot of money to protect
their country also demanded greater influence in the election
of military officials.
Historical re-enactment of the ‘Legio XV’ in Pram, Austria. Roman
soldiers around AD 70. Photo: Wikicommons / MatthiasKabel /
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
09
Military and government
The Roman people votes
So, the century assembly elected their consuls and praetors
on the Campus Martius.
Map of Rome’s hills. Source: Wikicommons / Coldeel /
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
10
Military and government
Highest-ranking officials
The highest-ranking representatives of the executive branch
were consuls and praetors. They held both military and civil
power, as this coin clearly indicates. The consul greets the
aquila to emphasise his military function. Behind him, you can
make out fasces. Those bundles of wooden rods were carried
by lictors before the higher-ranking officials and expressed
the power of consuls and praetors to pronounce judgements.
Denarius of A. Postumius Albinus. 81. Obverse: Hispania. Reverse:
Consul greeting aquila, fasces in the background.
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Military and government
Organising the people
Legend has it that Servius Tullius, sixth king of Rome, divided
the Roman people into 193 centuriae, according to economic
fortune. Whether or not the opinion of an individual would
be taken into consideration at the century assembly entirely
depended on the centuria this person belonged to.
Servius Tulluis, fantasy portrait by Frans Huys, 1522–62. Source:
Wikicommons / Deutsche Fotothek, Nr. 70231735/
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
12
Military and government
Money equals power
The centuria assembly reflected the distribution of wealth in
Rome. Each centuria had only one vote, no matter how many
members eligible to vote it had. The cavalry, from whose
ranks the senators were chosen, encompassed 18 centuriae.
They cast their vote first. The infantry made up the next class
of still rather few, but very wealthy, Romans. This class had 80
votes. If cavalry and first class foot soldiers agreed on a
majority, votes of the other centuriae were not even taken
into consideration.
Hierarchy of the ‘comitia centuriata’, the centuria assembly.
13
Military and government
Democracy, Roman style
A significant part of the population did not have any say in
political affairs: slaves, children and women.
Slave market, painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1884. State Hermitage, St
Petersburg. Source: Wikicommons / Hermitage Torrent.
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Military and government
Military policy becomes state policy
Due to the close connection between military and political
institutions, the needs of the military became the needs of
Rome.
Standard (vexillum) of the Roman army. Source: Wikicommons /
Ssolbergj / http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/